


eye of the storm.

by lorekeepings



Series: in the eye of the storm. [1]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Consensual Underage Sex, Dying Will Flames (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Flame Harmonization (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Flame Lore (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Multi, Sexual Violence, no beta we die like tyl tsuna
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:42:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27964754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lorekeepings/pseuds/lorekeepings
Summary: "consider me a failsafe of sorts." immediately after the battle for the vongola rings, tsuna and his guardians learn another vongola secret: the tenth generation guardian of the shadow. for gokudera, this means revisiting parts of his past he had long since forgotten.
Relationships: Gokudera Hayato/Original Female Character(s), Kurokawa Hana/Sasagawa Ryouhei, Miura Haru/Yamamoto Takeshi, Sasagawa Kyouko/Sawada Tsunayoshi
Series: in the eye of the storm. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2048084
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. from italy to japan.

**Author's Note:**

> the age of canon/oc cringe is dead and i'm bringing back an oc that has long since been important to me and my journey through writing. hitman reborn has always been a comfort media for me, and as i rewatch it, i remember how important these characters were to me. i hope that you can love miakis as much as i do, and i thank you for letting me update and pen her story for you to enjoy.
> 
> if you like what i do, you can drop me a tip at $motherconjurer via cashapp or follow me on twitter @CANTATRICKS.
> 
> also, check out miakis's official pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/motherconjurer/wakahisa-miakis-oc/
> 
> IMPORTANT NOTES:  
> \- this au takes place during a high school setting instead of a middle school one-- tsuna + company are seventeen, and their upperclassmen would be eighteen.  
> \- this is a pretty heavy story, and it deals with objectification of women and sexual assault. please read with caution.

**FROM ITALY TO JAPAN.**

_ “That's good,” she hums, voice quiet but eyes loud, cheering for the Vongola Decimo’s success. “I didn’t want to work for that bitch, Xanxus, anyways.” _

Morning never comes the way one expects it to. There are no harmonizing birds, no golden sunshine coming in from the windows— there are only wine-red lipsticks and dark eyeshadows, tepid glances and coffee that grows colder with each passing second. She sits there, quiet as ever, looking at herself in the mirror.

Her reflection stares back at her, laughing, mocking her:  _ you know what you have become,  _ it tells her, and the woman does not turn away. Instead, she continues to cover up that darkness, pressing a foundation brush to her skin until the imperfections have brushed themselves away. Eventually, she looks at herself in the mirror, and the reflection does not mock her: instead, it is a cold and broken visual of herself and of the person she has asked to become.

The door opens, and the girl’s head turns— she could call herself a woman, but she has not yet bloomed into adulthood, regardless of the glances, of the tight outfits, of the gazes offered to her as the curtain comes down. She smiles, though, and she is met with ones that matches her: a reflection, again, but this time, one she enjoys looking at.

“ _ Signora, _ ” greets the suited woman, and she bows politely at the waist, even at the girl’s dismissal with a wave of her hand. “Everything has been prepared for you.”

“Thank you, Fermata,” she stands, wrapping her robe around her proper as she disappears behind a rice-paper wall. Though the Italian blood offered to her by her mother’s line burns bright and prominent with western features, she has not chosen to abandon her Japanese heritage. Flecks of gold exist in her perfectly-porcelain world, like the rice paper changing wall or the yukata hanging in her closet. It burns brightly for the passersby to see, to say,  _ Look! If I am going to be on display, I am going to be on display on my terms! Know my name, and say it, even as I dance to your tunes! Know my name, for it is… _

“Miakis Wakahisa,” another voice joins those growing in the room, a familiar one, and as she pulls on her sweater, she smiles as her head pokes around the wall.

“Hello, Mr. Sawada,” she greets him, grey eyes bright with enthusiasm. “Has it been decided as to whether or not I’ll be staying in Italy, or if I’ll be going to Japan?”

The two figures enter the room, and they could not look more different if they tried. Fermata, one of the three Vongola agents assigned to the protection of Miakis while she grew up in the fineries of Italy, had long, elegant blue hair and keen eyes to match, whereas Iemitsu Sawada was tall, broad, tanned, and blonde. She envied his masculinity; she wished it could be on display in place of her own femininity and the toils of women. Iemitsu rests a hand on her vanity, leaning his weight against it as she came around the wall again, dressed in her sweater and skirt.

“He won,” Iemitsu tells her. “Tsuna did.”

Brows shoot up in shock at the vague but telling answer: Sawada Tsunayoshi had won the battles for the Vongola rings, making him eligible for Vongola Decimo candidacy. His opponent, Xanxus, had been eliminated in some form or fashion — Miakis wasn’t privy to that information, and she didn’t want to be. 

“The Sky Ring…” Iemitsu continues. “Rejected Xanxus.”

Miakis stands there for just a moment, face decorated but monotone, as she processes the information given to her. She had been trained for this position since she was born, but now, hearing that she would be travelling to Japan to begin her role alongside the other Vongola Guardians, she felt like she was standing in a dream. She felt as though the world around her had frozen, and that she and Iemitsu were the only people moving in the dreamscape. After a moment of thought, she sees the blonde man move to speak again, and she acts before he does, approaching her vanity and collecting her makeup.

“That’s good,” she hums, voice quiet but eyes loud, cheering for the Vongola Decimo’s success. “I didn’t want to work for that bitch, Xanxus, anyways.”

Once the bag had been collected, she looks to Fermata, who pulls her luggage from the hallway. The makeup bag is stuffed down into the luggage —  _ did she pack those, or were they packed for her?  _ — and she turns to Iemitsu, palm extended.

“Once you accept this,” he begins, “Your life will never be the same. There is a reason someone is selected to fill your position only every ten generations.”

“I have been training my entire life for this, Sawada-sama,” she reminds him, the switch from Italian honorifics to Japanese ones seamless and fluid, like everything else about her. “To abandon my post now and not offer the Vongola Decimo a full roster of Guardians like he is entitled to would be to disrespect him and the memory of the Vongola Primo.”

Iemitsu looks her over, at her resolve and at the woman he’s become. While his eyes, wisened and regretful, have looked down at his own hands and watched his son grow up before his very eyes, he too has watched Wakahisa Miakis grow up. She has been a flower that bloomed in adversity, that reached out into the void and gripped her traumas, pulled them back by the collar and demanded retribution. In some cases, he feels like a successful father again, and as he reaches into his pocket, he cannot feel like he has failed a child for the second time.

No child should have to carry this weight, he believes, but she has consented to the burden that befalls her and befell her predecessor. He only hopes that she does not make the same mistakes that her predecessor did.

The box is small, like a handheld safe, and iron chains are wrapped around the entire thing to seal it away from the world. The Vongola rings were the cause of bloodshed, yes, but the one that existed inside this safe would do more than make men bleed. Miakis reaches into her collar, underneath her sweater, and removes a key, one that has been hung around her neck since she slept in a cradle, and she unlocks the padlock that separates the world from its most chaotic form of destruction.

As the iron chains fall to the floor, she wonders if this is what Pandora felt moments before she opened the box given to her by Zeus. With the burden of the key around her neck missing, Miakis finds strength in reaching for the dial and spinning it, remembering the code she had memorized since she was young.

10, to designate the generation would be worthy of bearing this curse next.

28, to designate the number of people slaughtered during the first Shadow.

7, to designate the number of Vongola Guardians the Tenth Generation Boss would have.

The safe clicks open without much sway, and Miakis reaches into to retrieve the little velvet bag that existed inside of it. Quietly, she removes the eighth Vongola ring from it, sliding it onto the ring finger of her left hand.  _ Until death do we part, my new friend. _

“Your plane is waiting for you whenever you’re ready,” Iemitsu begins. “It will take you to Ikebukuro, where you will find lodgings. You will need to take the subway to Namimori, and to your new school— Namimori High. Once you get settled in, find Reborn, and your new responsibilities will begin.”

“I understand,” Miakis bows at the waist, formal and trained.

“Good luck,  _ Guardiana Ombra. _ ”


	2. dance with goblets.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "gokudera-kun," tsuna asked as he watched his best friend's eyes rise to meet him. "do you know her?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and we're into the thick of it! again, thank you all for taking the time to read this; i'm really looking forward to writing miakis's story and sharing with you all the lore i've been developing since i was in middle school. 
> 
> no necessary content warnings for this chapter, just a lot of dialogue. :)
> 
> follow me on twitter at @CANTATRICKS if you like, drop me a tip $motherconjurer on cashApp if you're feeling generous!  
> don't forget to check out miakis's pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/motherconjurer/wakahisa-miakis-oc/

**DANCE WITH GOBLETS.**

_ “Gokudera-kun,” Tsuna asked as he watched his best friend’s eyes rise to meet him. “Do you know her?” _

“Reborn,” Tsuna whines as his hand brings the brush across the hardwood of the floor. “It’s not even springtime! Why do we have to spring clean during the winter?”

Stuck inside an infant’s body, Reborn’s legs curled underneath him as he observed the scene before him: Tsuna, accompanied by Yamamoto Takeshi and Gokudera Hayato, were in charge of making sure the house was cleaned before an event that Reborn kept mentioning. Though the task itself wasn’t hard thanks to Nana’s rampant diligence around the house, Reborn’s standards for cleanliness were astronomical, and between Gokudera and Yamamoto making more of a mess than cleaning and the insanity of Lambo and I-Pin’s rivalry, it felt like nothing was getting done to appease his tutor.

“Because,” Reborn begins, that charismatic smile on his lips like nobody had ever crossed him before. “In all the years I’ve known of her, I’ve never known her to be late.”

“ _ Her?! _ ” Tsuna asks, panic evident in his voice as he goes through all five stages of grief at once. In Tsuna’s mind, this unidentifiable woman was another weirdo that Reborn had brought along for the next phase of his training to be Vongola Decimo, and frankly, he had his fair share of weirdos already. Immediately after, Tsuna is met with the laden grief of having a girl in his room — he didn’t want to disrespect Kyoko even though they weren’t in a relationship. Whoever this person was, Tsuna decided, he wanted nothing to do with her.

Straightening his back, Yamamoto wipes some sweat from his eyebrows and looks to Reborn. “Another friend of yours?” He asks, and Reborn nods.

“Yes,” he responds, letting Leon crawl back onto his hat from the patch of sun where he was warming up against the winter hostility. “She has been studying ballet in Italy for quite some time now. I told her that it would be better for her to complete her training here in Japan as well.”

“Ballet?” Gokudera asks.

“Training?!” Tsuna shouts. “Is she a mafia boss too?!”

“Don’t be so loud,” Reborn scolds his student, shaking his head. “No. She is not a family boss. She is a member of the Vongola.”

Immediately, Tsuna sits down and holds his head in his hands, frustrated with the situation that was developing before him. What was once a seemingly-normal (albeit annoying) winter break chore had become another Vongola excursion at the hands of Reborn. While the young mafia boss looked displeased with this information, taking a moment to sit down on the edge of the bed, his tutor was relatively pleased with the outcome. His eyes flicker back and forth between the guardians present, and he hops down onto the floor.

“Gokudera,” he begins, the silver-haired boy standing at attention now that he was being addressed by someone so precious to his boss. “As the right hand man of the Vongola Decimo, it will be your job to make sure that the individual who approaches is of no threat to Tsuna’s well-being.”

“My well-being?! Is she going to kill me?!” Tsuna cries out, hands in his hair.

“You can count on me,” Gokudera nods in agreeance with Reborn, taking a stick of dynamite out from his hoodie and holding it between his fingers, unlit. “If she so much as even thinks about harming the Boss, I’ll blow her to pieces.”

From there, as Tsuna began to plead with his best friend not to blow up his childhood home, Reborn turns to look at Yamamoto, silently pleased with the other’s seriousness regarding the matter. “And Yamamoto, as a member of Tsuna’s inner circle, you are to pick up where Gokudera falters. There may come a time where his weaknesses surpass his strengths, and it will be your job to shield him when the time comes. You are Tsuna’s Guardian, yes, but your willingness to protect all members of the Family is what needs to be strengthened.”

“Haha, no problem,” Yamamoto smiles, his happy-go-lucky charisma out in full. “Though, I don’t think Gokudera is going to have a problem. Besides… I can’t hit girls. It’s just not right.”

“Regardless of the enemy’s sex,” Gokudera counters, arms crossed over his chest and dynamite hidden in a spot that he could recall later, “They would be stupid to harm the Boss just after we defeated Xanxus and his goons! All of the Vongola knows who the rightful heir to the title is!”

As if on cue, orchestrated by some grand puppeteer, just as Gokudera speaks, the door to the Sawada house gets knocked on — once, twice, three times. Short, crisp, and staccato. Tsuna freezes the moment the sound echoes throughout the house, but Gokudera seems eager to take a look at the woman that Reborn is speaking so candidly of, and Yamamoto seems happy to have an extra set of hands to help them with their task.

Poking his head out the door, Tsuna can see down the stairs, eyes locked onto his mother’s back as she goes to answer the door. Unfortunately, the angle he was peeking at obscured his vision from the person at the door, though the conversation was audible.

“Hello,” an unfamiliar voice greeted Nana. “I am Reborn-sama’s friend. I’ve been called here to meet Sawada-sama for the first time today.”

“A friend of Tsuna’s?” Nana asks, hands on her cheeks as she smiles. “And you’re so polite! Please, come on in.”

“Thank you very much, ma’am.” 

With Nana out of the way and poking her head up towards the staircase, Tsuna gets a better view of the woman from before. With rib-length black hair that has just a bit of wave to it, she is outfitted in a black sweater and plaid skirt, removing her heels at the door to reveal a pair of semi-transparent black tights. She’s pretty — seemingly intentionally so — with makeup painted all over her face, following more western makeup trends than eastern ones. 

“Tsuna-kun!” Nana calls up the stairs. “There’s a girl here to see you!”

“There she is,” Reborn chimes, hopping down from Tsuna’s shoulder, effectively startling the young man, who didn’t know he was there, to stand at the top of the stairs. 

“Ah,” the girl smiles as she turns to face the stairs, hands by her side as she bows. “Reborn-sama. It’s so nice to see you again.”

The first thing Tsuna notes about her, outside of her physical appearance, are her impeccable manners. Her bows are perfectly ninety degrees, her back straight, and she doesn’t raise herself until Reborn greets her.  _ If this is a hitman,  _ Tsuna thinks,  _ she’s a very polite one. _

“Oh,” Yamamoto smiles as he comes around the corner, bringing Gokudera with him so that the two of them could scope out the newest addition to the Sawada house this afternoon. “A girl! She’s very pretty.”

As she rises properly to thank the man who’d given her a compliment, a stillness of sorts fills the air as Tsuna notices that the girl’s eyes are no longer on him and no longer on Reborn. Gasping softly, she smiles again, desperate to keep up appearances in front of the man she’d been serving. As Tsuna follows her gaze, he finds that it lands on Gokudera, red-faced and expression heavy with shock.

“Miakis?” He asks her, though he makes no move to approach her.

“Hayato,” she replies, hands folding in front of her once more. Before she can greet him, Reborn interrupts, jumping between them.

“You can come upstairs and join us in Tsuna’s room, Miakis,” Reborn nods. “I want to introduce you to everyone. Mama always makes snacks when there’s a guest.”

“Ah,” she nods, beginning to ascend the stairs. “Thank you, Reborn-sama. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone.”

As Miakis climbs the stairs to the second floor of the Sawada residence, the three boys who had inhabited the top of the stairs enter Tsuna’s room first, though none of them sit just yet— it would be rude to do so while their guest was still entering. Tsuna looks to Gokudera, who has his hands in his pockets and his frown downturned in a scowl. He’d seen his best friend look this way a number of times—he gets scary-looking when he’s thinking—but never about another person.  _ Does Gokudera-kun think she’s already an enemy? If he knows her, then he might be worried…  _

“Gokudera-kun,” Tsuna asked as he watched his best friend’s eyes rise to meet him. “Do you know her?”

“I did,” Gokudera replies, “Though it’s been years since I’ve seen her.”

Before Tsuna can ask for more information and elaboration, the woman—Miakis—enters the room, waiting for Tsuna and his company to sit down at the little table he kept in his bedroom before joining them, legs tucked neatly under herself. 

“It’s an honor to meet you, Vongola Decimo,” she smiles at him, nodding. “Your father has done nothing but speak praise of you for as long as I’ve known him.”

“You know my dad?” Tsuna asks, and Miakis nods. 

“Yes. He’s the head of CEDEF, right? The man who made sure that those rings got into your hands, and the man who made sure I ended up in your immediate circle. Sawada-sama is very important to me.”

Overwhelmed with the fact that a stranger holds his father in such high regards, Tsuna looks at the woman in wonder before snapping out of it. “Wait a minute,” he begins. “Who are you?”

“Wakahisa Miakis.” She introduces herself, smiling behind a wine-stained lip. “But please, feel free to call me by my first name, or whatever you deem appropriate, Decimo.”

At the pronunciation of her full name, Gokudera’s jaw sets, and Miakis cannot bring herself to tilt her gaze anywhere near the hot-headed Storm Guardian. It’s Yamamoto who breaks the silence, reaching out to shake her hand. “Yamamoto Takeshi!” He grins. “Are you transferring to Namimori High?”

“Yes,” she nods, polite as ever. “I’ll be a third-year when the semester resumes.”

“Like Ryohei!”

“...who?”

Reborn hops up onto the table, adjusting his hat. “It seems more appropriate introductions are in order. You’re familiar with Tsuna, but let me introduce you to Gokudera Hayato, the Tenth Storm Guardian, and Yamamoto Takeshi, the Tenth Rain Guardian. The man Yamamoto mentioned is Sasagawa Ryohei, the Tenth Sun Guardian.”

“Ah,” she nods, shaking her head. “I apologize, Reborn-sama. I’m not up to date on names, but I hope that by repeated exposure, I’ll learn everyone appropriately.”

“No worries,” Reborn replies. “I know you will. We’ll meet one-on-one and I’ll give you an intel breakdown.”

Turning to Tsuna, Reborn crosses his arms over his smaller body, staring at him intently. The temperature of the conversation seems to have changed into something cold and serious— something that Tsuna didn’t really want to investigate just after defeating Xanxus and the Varia a few weeks ago. To be shown again something he wasn’t pleased with stresses him out, no matter how normal this girl looks. “Tell me, Tsuna. What do you think of when you think of the sky?”

The question is a confusing one, but instead of immediately reacting like he wanted to, Tsuna thinks long and hard about the question being asked. When he thinks of the sky, he thinks of a bright summer day, with clouds accenting a blue canvas. He thinks of a shining sun and warm rain kissing his cheeks, of gentle storms and lightning cleaning out the dust and pollen that springtime has brought about, and early morning mists. When he tells Reborn this, both Gokudera and Yamamoto are moved by the thoughts and how Tsuna’s vision of the sky is a vision of all of them acting together under the banner that is Tsuna’s pride.

“But all of that takes place during the daytime,” Reborn corrects him. “What about at night?”

“At night?” Tsuna asks. “Well, I mean, there can be storms and mist and sky at night.”

“The shadow is an integral part of the sky’s success,” he begins, explaining. “While the sky has to be illuminated, welcomed, and bright to accept all those who need its embrace, we cannot forget that we are Mafia first. There are things that happen in the shadows, bad things, and as such, someone must make sure that the acts committed in the dark are not found out by those who look to the sky in the daytime.”

Moving her hands out from under the table, Miakis folds her left hand overtop of her right, revealing the Vongola ring that had been bestowed upon her the day before. At the sight of this, the three boys in the room scoot backwards for a moment, only to get closer to it and look at its insignia. Like theirs, it was silver and embedded with an insignia, one that would designate the power of the Shadow.

“A Vongola Ring…?” Tsuna asked. “So, you’re a Guardian!”

“That’s correct, Decimo,” Miakis nodded. “I am your Guardiana Ombra. Your Guardian of the Shadow.”

“But,” Gokudera begins, looking to Reborn, “The Varia didn’t have a Shadow Guardian! Is this some prank?”

“No, Gokudera,” Reborn shakes his head. “The Guardiana Ombra— or Guardiano Ombra, if the holder is a man— is only needed every ten generations. Their power is so immense and destructive that after the Guardiano finishes their tasks, their ring must be locked away until the other Rings call upon it.”

“Consider me a failsafe of sorts.” Miakis smiles. “If every other piece on the battlefield falls, it is my duty to make sure that those who would harm you fall by my hand. I have been training for this position since I was an infant, so you have nothing to worry about. If your Guardians already take care you like Sawada-sama claims they do, I hope I will never have to use my power.”

“A failsafe…” Tsuna blinks. “Just what do you  _ do? _ ”

“Miakis is an accomplished ballerina,” Reborn begins, and immediately, the manners that existed on Miakis’s face are replaced with humility and embarrassment. Rubbing the back of her neck, her blush shines through her foundation, and she laughs, sheepish at the praise. “As such, she has the stamina, agility, and strength necessary to be a Vongola Guardian.”

“Those are her only qualifications?!” Gokudera asks, crossing his arms over his chest. “Anyone can do stupid ballet.”

“I’m also carrying a gun on my person right now.” Miakis smiles, and she rises, doing a full turn so that the boys can look her over. Due to the form-fitting sweater on top and her plaid skirt, it doesn’t look like could be hiding a bulky holster underneath any of her clothes. She kneels before the table again, feet neatly tucked underneath her. “I wouldn’t dare present myself before the Vongola Decimo if I wasn’t ready, Hayato. Trust me when I say I’m ready to serve as best I can.”

“S-So…” Tsuna stammers out, uncomfortable with the tension forming between Gokudera and, what Tsuna presumes to be the newest threat to his title as ‘right hand’, “How did you find us? And why didn’t you show up before?”

“It was unnecessary, as there was no contender for the Shadow Ring. It, unlike the rest of the rings, does not split into halves. To train multiple people to be able to handle the powers of the Ring of the Shadow would be to create a liability,” Miakis begins, crinkling her nose. “I serve the Vongola Decimo. At the time, the family was uncertain as to whether or not that would be you or Xanxus. Now that it is you, I was alerted by my people of authority that it was time for me to enter your life as your Shadow Guardian. It’s my job to make sure that failure is not an option, Decimo. That’s why I’m joining you at Namimori High.”

“It’s so nice to make other friends,” Yamamoto nods. “Haru will love your style. Kyoko, too.”

“I still don’t know about this…” Tsuna frowns. “We’ve only just met, and you say you have the power to make sure losing isn’t an option?”

“I understand if you don’t trust me,” Miakis nods, shrugging. “But Reborn says I am the real deal.”

With a soft gasp leaving him, Tsuna returns his gaze to Reborn, and Reborn nods. “She is an accomplished hitman,” Reborn begins. “On par with Gokudera and Yamamoto. You don’t have anything to worry about with an ally like her.”

“Again,” Miakis smiles a sheepish smile at him. “I don’t want to have to use my power at all, if I can’t help it. Instead, I’d just like to work with the rest of your Guardians to make sure you are safest until your ascension to being the boss of the Vongola. Regardless of the outcome, all I wanted to do was introduce myself. We’ll be seeing more of each other in the days to come. School starts soon, anyways.” Rising from her seat, she offers Tsuna a bow at the waist, then offering a second one to Yamamoto and Gokudera as a unit. 

“Goodbye for now,” she smiles. “I look forward to learning the rest of you soon enough.”

“Oh—” Tsuna blinks. “Goodbye.”

As Miakis leaves, Tsuna sighs, only relaxing when he hears the sound of her heels leaving and the door closing behind her. The air is tense with the presence of the new woman, whoever she is, and after some time, Reborn claims that the house is clean enough for now. Yamamoto, pleased with the addition of a new friend, fills his belly with the snacks Nana brought up, dejected that she didn’t make them fast enough for Tsuna’s new friend to enjoy.

“She called you ‘Hayato’,” Tsuna brings up after a moment passes, chewing on a rice ball. Manners cast aside, he looks up at the other, confused and hoping that Gokudera can give a bit more insight on the girl.

“Of all the people, Reborn-san,” Gokudera frowns, sitting in the window and having sat there since Miakis left. “Why did it have to be her?”

“Oh?” Reborn asks, playing dumb— obviously so, according to the twinkle in his eyes— “Did you know her, Gokudera?”

Gokudera sighs, bringing his knee to his chest and shaking his head. Obviously, something was the matter with him, and Tsuna and Yamamoto both saw this.  _ Perhaps this is what Reborn meant,  _ Yamamoto thought,  _ of watching Gokudera’s back when his weaknesses seemed to hurt him. _

“We were friends when we were younger. At least, I thought we were.” Gokudera begins. “We were in Italy at the same time. Our fathers did business together. We were just children, but...” 

“But…?” Tsuna asks, leaning forward to encourage Gokudera to keep talking.

“But she disappeared. Her father would keep coming to meet with mine, but she stopped showing up. I could tell it was her at first glance. I thought she was dead.”

“Nope,” Reborn says all-too-calmly, pulling Gokudera’s attention from the window. “Weren’t you listening, Gokudera? Miakis has been training to be the Guardiana Ombra since her birth. It wasn’t that she disappeared: the Vongola called her away to begin her training properly.”

“We were  _ five, _ ” Gokudera retorts.

“Your point?” Reborn frowns.

Tsuna frowns at the forming argument, though he’s not unfamiliar with Gokudera’s history — having grown up in a rich household with a dead mother, having left those riches behind at age eight… If this Miakis person was one of the few things connecting him to Italy and to the Gokudera family, it’s understandable that he’s upset about her sudden resurgence.

“She’s back now,” Reborn states. “Be grateful that you didn’t lose a friend.”

Placated with this information but unsatisfied with the way it was administered, Gokudera sighs, settling into the window against the glass. 

“Here’s her contact information,” Reborn nods, handing a piece of paper to Tsuna. “I encourage you to speak to her often. The Guardian of the Shadow is intentionally supposed to stay out of the limelight.”

Taking the piece of paper, Tsuna reads the phone number once or twice before handing the piece of paper to Gokudera and Yamamoto. “Here, you guys too… I don’t want to be weird or let anyone get the wrong idea.”

“Sure,” Yamamoto says without hesitation. “I wonder if she likes baseball or wants to come eat at the restaurant sometimes.”

In the pit of Gokudera’s stomach, just hearing Yamamoto talk about her potential likes and dislikes causes something to light aflame. Irritation with how easily Yamamoto allowed her into the parts of his life he deemed most important, perhaps? Frustration with the way she forced herself upon Tsuna, maybe? Or was it jealousy, potentially, at knowing that Miakis would try anything once, and that she would likely sit with him and listen to him talk about baseball just to get to know him better just so that she could be a good Guardian?

“Here,” Yamamoto smiles, handing the paper to Gokudera. “You, too. Tsuna said.”

Quietly, Gokudera takes the paper from Yamamoto, looking it over and putting in the number into his contacts. He assigns her the formal [ WAKAHISA MIAKIS ] as her contact name, whatever semblance of friendship they may have had in the innocence of their youth missing from the now. Whoever she is now, she’s not the girl he knew before: he needed to remember that.

Still, that doesn’t stop him from sending her a quick text message.

[ GOKUDERA HAYATO | 17:23 ]

I want to talk to you.

[ WAKAHISA MIAKIS | 17:24 ]

Is this Hayato?

[ GOKUDERA HAYATO | 17:24 ]

Who else could it be, woman?

[ WAKAHISA MIAKIS | 17:25 ]

I don’t want guests tonight. Come by tomorrow.

[ WAKAHISA MIAKIS | 17:26 ]

**1 ATTACHED: LOCATION**

Still, Gokudera couldn’t help but wonder if she remembered the songs he used to play her. He wondered if she remembered that ballet.


	3. pas de deux: entrée.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'he couldn’t believe what she was telling him — and he refused to accept the truth.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no necessary content warnings for this chapter! the beginnings of gokudera and miakis's past is being unraveled with miakis's first mission from reborn. 
> 
> a 'pas de deux' is a ballet segment that involves two dancers -- a ballerina (miakis) and a danseur (gokudera), and the grand pas de deux is often composed of three parts, an entre'e, an adagio/adage, and a coda. feel free to enjoy that naming convention for the next chapter as well. :)
> 
> comments > kudos (but kudos are accepted and loved)! feel free to drop me a tip at the cashapp details i've been listing in previous chapters, feel free to check out miakis's pinterest, too.

**PAS DE DEUX: ENTRÉE.**

_ He couldn’t believe what she was telling him — and he refused to accept the truth. _

_ “Hayato,” her tiny voice called out to him that night as they sat in the ballroom. She was still done up in her leotard and tights, ballet shoes pulled so tight over little feet that Hayato was sure they’d lose circulation. Her head rested on his shoulder, visibly exhausted from hours upon hours of dancing to the music that Hayato played, but he didn’t mind. He could be strong and hold her up for as long as she needed to. “Will you play that song again?” _

_ He didn’t say anything; he never really did in times like this. Just like every other elementary-school boy, Hayato perceived childhood crushes to be pathetic and gross, and he, a future powerful Mafioso, couldn’t trouble himself with anything like that. So, without response, he began to play the piano again, kicking up the same tune she had danced to just a few moments ago. He wishes he had two pairs of hands so that he could give her a hug and play the song at the same time, but it was only a matter of minutes before she dozed off on his shoulder, arms wrapped around his tiny bicep to cling to the first sense of safety she had experienced in days. _

🙜 

In Gokudera’s defense, she never told him what time to come over, and there was part of him that woke up that morning to choose being a nuisance. Perhaps if he pushed his limits with her, pushed her over the edge, she would confess why she didn’t reach out to him. He had followed the location she had sent him the night prior all the way out to Ikebukuro, confused as to why she would be living out here if she was attending school in Namimori.

By the time he approached the apartment building, however, he understood: it was a glamorous building, one he felt partially unworthy of being in. That moment of insecurity disappears when he remembers that he’s Smokin’ Bomb Hayato, Right Hand to the Vongola Decimo. With pride and storm in his pretty, green eyes, he enters the building. 

The lobby of the apartment building is just as luxurious as the outside: there are polished marble floors, a separate mailroom, one of those guys who pressed the elevator button for you so that you didn’t have to. It made sense that the Vongola would put Miakis up in something like this.  _ Stupid girl,  _ he thinks as he looks around, sort-of wandering, sort-of pacing,  _ she didn’t tell me what floor she lived on. _

A peek inside the mailroom was all it took for Gokudera to find what he needed, though: it didn’t take long to find her name on one of the mailboxes—#601. Returning to the elevator, he looks to the elevator attendant, clearing his throat. “Apartment 601,” he tells him. “Wakahisa Miakis?”

Silently, the bellhop nods, pressing the topmost button to Gokudera’s surprise.  _ The penthouse?  _ He asks.  _ Why is this girl living in better conditions than the Boss?  _ When the elevator comes to a satisfying, silent stop, he exits, nodding to the bellhop for his services. There was only one door on the top floor of the building: #601. An impressive wooden door separated Gokudera from whatever laid inside, and that bridge was formed the moment Gokudera pressed his thumb down onto the doorbell, hearing the ring buzz from inside the building.

“Just one moment!” Calls that familiar voice, and Gokudera exhales slowly, content that he got the directions right. It would be embarrassing for him to have fucked all of this up somehow, and he didn’t want to give anyone an opening to mock him. The door opens after some time, and on the other side of the threshold is Miakis, hair up in a ponytail, face void of makeup. A leotard covers her top half, though a jacket sits overtop of her shoulders, unzipped, and a pair of sweatpants covers her bottom half. Pointe shoes are visible, abandoned and recently removed, next to the couch in the living room. “Hayato,” she exhales. “Good to see you.”

“You didn’t tell me what time to come over,” Gokudera huffs, pocketing his hands in his jeans. “What would you have done if I came over at three in the morning?”

“Let you in,” she replies, bluntly. “I would have been mad that you woke me up, but I would have let you in.”

“Tch,” he rolls his eyes. “Stupid girl.”

“That’s no way to talk to someone,” she bites back at him, but she lets him into the apartment anyways, sighing softly. He toes his shoes off at the door.

Gokudera is, at first, amazed by the kind of loft penthouse apartment that Vongola have put her up in, but after a moment, he shouldn’t be surprised. The Family has always taken care of those important to the mission, even if they have to rip and tear their way to that comfort. The penthouse has two floors, the bottom half of it being the living room and the kitchen, though it looks like Miakis has designated a corner of the living room to set up portable ballet barres for her to practice her talents while here in Japan. The entire apartment is encased in full-scale glass windows, though if he squints, he can see rolled up blackout curtains at the top of each window. Turning around, he looks up to see her bedroom, visible from the first floor: it looks plain in comparison, though he’s sure there’s a grandiose bathroom hidden behind a closed door.  _ Girls and their luxury,  _ he presumes.

“You wanted to talk?” Miakis asks, sitting down on one of the couches in the living room. “Make yourself at home.”

Sighing, Gokudera takes a seat across from her on the couch opposite hers. “Why are you here?” He asks.

“CEDEF sent me while Vongola Ninth recovers. I thought I made it pretty clear that there is only a Guardian of the Shadow every ten generations—”

“Not what I meant,” he snarls at her, and Miakis’s shoulders drop. “Why Namimori? Why here, why now, after.... twelve years?”

“Thirteen,” she corrects him, shaking her head. “I didn’t get to make the rules, Hayato. Sawada-sama—Boss’s father—told me that I was being flown out to Japan. That the heir to the position had been chosen by the Vongola rings, and that I was to go serve him effective immediately.”

“Did you know?” He asks. “That I was here?” 

“No,” she replies, her head dropped just a little bit. “They didn’t tell me anything. I’ve only been in contact with Reborn-sama and the three Vongola operatives assigned to protect me. Part of the Shadow training is independence and solitude. I presume that’s why we were separated when we were.”

“Fuck that!” He tells her, standing up, knuckles white around the rings on his fingers. “I don’t want any of that bullshit! You don’t get to walk back into my life after thirteen years; you just  _ don’t! _ ”

“Hayato, do you seriously think this is about you?” 

The question strikes Gokudera between the third and fourth rib, face dropping in shock. The woman that sat in front of him didn’t hold any of the emotion, any of the soft-faced nature he had known in his childhood. She was stoic, quiet, independent— and it was very apparent to the Storm Guardian that she didn’t need him in the way he thought he needed her. “What?” He asks.

“Is your ego so unchecked that you think that the Vongola IX took me away from my parents, forced me through almost eighteen years of rigorous training, made me abandon the only friend I was allowed to have, just to put me back in his life to torment him?” She asks, the hurt evident in her voice, in the way her lips curved down (visible and prominent against pale skin, even without the heavy makeup she had on the day before). “Get over yourself. It’s a coincidence, Hayato. That’s all. We were both drawn to the Vongola Decimo in our own ways. For you, it was independent. For me, it was part of my destiny.”

“Destiny?” He asks, arching an eyebrow. “You believe in predestined lives?”

“I don’t just believe, Hayato,” she tells him, brows knitting together. “I live in one. I hope, over the next few months, you’ll come to believe me.”

But he couldn’t. He couldn’t believe what she was telling him — and he refused to accept the truth.

Sighing, Miakis stands from the couch, stretching a bit, and Gokudera takes this time to examine her while her eyes are squeezed shut. She’s grown taller, obviously, but if they were to stand next to one-another, she would only come up to his shoulders. Her legs are long, her stomach flat—probably  _ too  _ flat, knowing what he knows about Italian ballerinas—and her physique athletic. Just like the Dokuro girl, but intentional… and not caused by illusionary organs.

“My mission from Reborn-sama today is to meet and become familiar with the other Guardians.” She tells Gokudera, pocketing her hands in her sweatpants. “It would be strange if a stranger just introduced herself to them; will you come with me?”

“What?” He asks, looking up at her in confusion. “You want me to come with you?”

“You’re the Decimo’s right hand man,” she says, and he likes the way that it’s a  _ statement,  _ not a question. There is no  _ aren’t you?  _ at the end, no challenge to his charisma or his character or his devotion to Tsuna. She has spoken that statement into existence, and frankly, it sounds better coming from her mouth than it does his. “You know these people like the back of your hand, don’t you?”

“Mostly,” he nods. “You’ll wanna stay clear of Hibari, and the Dokuro girl… we don’t know too much about her yet. She’s dangerous, that’s for sure.”

“Sure,” she nods. “But you didn’t answer my question. Will you introduce me to these people? We can bring the Decimo along, if it makes you feel better.”

“Mm,” he agrees. “I should probably check on him, too. I haven’t texted him yet this morning.”

“Get that taken care of while I get ready. I won’t be long. You guys can determine plans, and I’ll just be along for the ride.”

“Sure.”

As Miakis gets up properly, ascending the stairs and shedding her jacket on the way up, Gokudera makes a point to keep his eyes on his phone. He doesn’t want to accidentally look up into the loft and see her changing, or catch a reflection of something he shouldn’t in the glass windows. Quietly, he processes how he’s feeling, taking his emotions and churning them into data for him to calculate at a later date. 

[ GOKUDERA HAYATO | 08:34 ]

Good morning, Boss! Are you awake?

[ BOSS | 08:35 ] 

good morning gokudera

yeah im awake

reborn woke me up super early this morning

he said youd text soon though ? :)

[ GOKUDERA HAYATO | 08:36 ]

The Shadow girl says Reborn wants her to meet with everyone today.

Do you have plans?

[ BOSS | 08:36 ]

not really

i knew i shouldnt have gotten excited when reborn gave me the day off

who all is ‘everyone’ ?

do you know?

[ GOKUDERA HAYATO | 08:37 ]

She says all of the Guardians. 

But if you’re coming with us, then Reborn-san can give us some more detail, right?

[ BOSS | 08:38 ]

sure

ill call yamamoto and we can meet at his dad’s restaurant?

[ GOKUDERA HAYATO | 08:38 ]

Okay! I’m in Ikebukuro right now, so I’ll see you in a bit.

[ BOSS | 08:39 ]

???

ikebukuro??

what are you doing out there

[ GOKUDERA HAYATO | 08:39 ]

Picking up the Shadow girl.

She lives out here.

[ BOSS | 08:40 ]

!!!

all the way out there?? man

thank you, gokudera-kun, for picking her up!

there are some real weirdos on the train

[ GOKUDERA HAYATO | 08:40 ]

Anything for you, Boss!

We’ll see you soon. :)

His chest tightens with the pride that comes with being praised by Tsuna for performing appropriate duties befitting the Right Hand title. Smiling softly, he tucks his phone down into his jeans, looking up only when the stairs creak. From where he’s sitting, he can see Miakis, fully-dressed, sitting down in front of her vanity, likely to apply layers upon layers of makeup like she did the other day. (He smirks, slightly, at the conversation she and Hibari would have about how her makeup is out of dress code; he wonders if they’d argue about it.)

Another ten minutes or so pass, and she descends the stairs again, hair pulled up in a messy bun and her outfit consisting of a cute letterman jacket atop a white shirt, a pleated skirt and sneakers completing the look. Out of instinct, Gokudera rises when she comes down the stairs, and her smile spreads to his face. She’s wearing a lot of makeup, just like he predicted, but its focus is on browns and peach tones this time instead of the sultrier greys and reds she wore when she first met Tsuna.

“So,” she asks, grabbing a small backpack-like bag over her shoulders and pulling on her sneakers. “Did you and the Boss decide on something?”

“Yeah,” Gokudera nods. “We’re going to meet them at the baseball freak’s place.”

“Baseball… freak?” She replies, seemingly egging him on for more information.

“Yamamoto,” Gokudera concedes, huffing as though the pronunciation of the Rain Guardian’s name was an exhausting chore. “The Rain Guardian.”

“Ah,” she nods, cataloguing the information for recall later. “Will everyone be there?”

“I guess,” Gokudera shrugs. “Definitely us, the boss’s girl and her brother, and then Yamamoto and Haru. Lambo and I-Pin will be there if there’s food involved, I’m sure.”

“Sure,” she smiles, a hand on her stomach. “I didn’t get to eat breakfast this morning. I’m looking forward to it.”

  
  


By the time they get there, it’s close to ten in the morning. Between the busy subway systems that took them from Ikebukuro to Namimori and the walk time, Gokudera and Miakis had definitely worked up a bit of a hunger. Thankfully, nothing out of the ordinary happened, and by the time they made it into the main lobby of Yamamoto sushi, everyone else had already gathered.

“Ah! Gokudera-kun!” Tsuna grins ear to ear, accompanied by just about everyone that Gokudera had identified before. There were two empty seats between Tsuna and Ryohei on his right, but on his left sat Kyoko, Haru, Lambo, I-Pin, and Bianchi, tinted glasses covering her face (much to Gokudera's surprise and pleasure). At the other head of the large table was Reborn, with Yamamoto helping his dad somewhere else in the restaurant.

“A new girl…?” Haru had asked, turning over her shoulder. 

“She’s pretty!” Kyoko chirped, hands clapped together in her blissful ignorance of the situation.

“Sorry we’re late, Boss,” Gokudera bowed before taking the seat to his immediate right. Miakis gestures to the seat next to Gokudera, and Tsuna nods, explaining they’d saved it for her. It doesn’t take much for her to sit after that. “The train was obnoxious, as it usually is. It wouldn’t take my pass.”

“Well,” Tsuna smiles, “I’m glad you guys made it. I’m happy we get to eat lunch together.”

“Lunch is so early over here,” Miakis blinks. “Is this normal?”

“Not really,” Reborn shakes his head. “We’re a little early.”

“Ah,” Miakis nods. “Back home, we don’t eat lunch until noon… not that I’m complaining. I didn’t get to eat breakfast because I was practicing. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Tsuna-kun,” Kyoko chimes, smiling at him though being obvious to the way he melted around her smile. “Won’t you introduce us to your new friend? Is she a friend of Gokudera-kun’s?”

“O-oh!” Tsuna smiles, gesturing to Miakis, who waves politely. “Everyone, this is Wakahisa Miakis. She’s transferring to Namimori High in the spring, but she moved to Japan earlier this week. Reborn introduced us, so we should show her around. Miakis, this is Sasagawa Kyoko—”

“Hello!”

“—Miura Haru—”

“Haha, good morning, Miakis-chan!”

“—Sasagawa Ryohei—”

“Working out this early in the morning! I admire it! A pleasure to meet you!”

“—and I-Pin, and Lambo Bovino.”

“I-Pin makes your acquaintance gratefully!”

“Hahaha, another servant for the great Lambo-chan!”

With the cast of colorful characters forming before her, Miakis takes a long minute to look everyone over, though she doesn’t appear rude by ignoring them. Instead, her eyes scan hands and collars, looking for Vongola rings. When she only finds rings tucked into Lambo’s hair and on the bandaged hand of Ryohei, she seems content with the fact that not all of the guardians are here, and lets it be. 

“Miakis,” Bianchi greets her, nodding. “Good to see you again.”

“Ah, hello again, Bianchi-san.”

At first, Tsuna is shocked that Bianchi and Miakis know each other, but as honey-brown eyes fall onto the tightened face of his right-hand man, his shoulders relax. If Gokudera and Miakis knew each other from their childhood, it only made sense that Gokudera’s older sister knew her as well. His eyes stay on Gokudera for a little longer, wondering just what happened between two five-year-olds that caused such wrinkles in his best friend’s face.

“Everyone’s here!” A voice cries out as it emerges from the kitchen, and out walks Yamamoto, dressed in his plainclothes with an apron overtop of them and a bandana pulling his hair back. “We pick an order yet?”

As everyone begins to rattle off their orders, Miakis looks a bit dumbfounded. Sure, she’d had sushi before, and her Japanese heritage had made her familiar with what was common and what wasn’t, but frankly, she’d only been familiar with some of the things eaten during dinner. She barely knew what was appropriate for lunch, let alone an early lunch, and there was no menu in sight. 

“I’ll have tuna,” Gokudera says, nodding to Yamamoto as cups of tea are placed down in front of him and Miakis. “And the girl will, too.”

“Ah, are you sure?” Yamamoto asks, smiling. 

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Miakis smiles at the baseball player, fingers interlocked and acrylic nails tapping against her skin. “I trust Hayato’s judgement.”

“Sure! I hope you like it.”

“I’m sure I will.”

Across the table, Reborn hides a pleased smirk, and Miakis drinks her tea, nodding her thanks to Gokudera, who rolls his eyes in response.

“Ah…” Haru begins, a finger on her lip. “Do you and Gokudera-kun already know each other?”

“Sort of,” Miakis smiles, crinkling her nose and smiling at the girl in front of her. “I traveled here from Italy, just like Hayato, so he’s helping me out along the way.”

“Eh?!” Haru blinks, shaking her head. “Grumpy Gokudera-kun being nice to someone… I don’t believe it for a second.”

“It’s the truth.”

It didn’t take very long for lunch to be served at all, and it took even less time for Miakis to understand the dynamics of the table. There was Tsuna, the boss, the sky— and the most important connections to him were Kyoko, who had his affection and attention in full as evidenced by the way he snapped his head around to look at her whenever she spoke, even if it wasn’t to him, and Gokudera, who did the same for Tsuna with the absence of romantic affections. Accompanying Tsuna in a secondary manner were Yamamoto and Ryohei, two powerful guardians who appeared to be perfect reflections of the elements they were representing. Connected to Yamamoto were both Gokudera and Tsuna, a triumvirate of best friends, and Haru— Miakis catches the way his eyes linger on her when she thanks him, bright and shining, for her food. Connected to Ryohei was Kyoko, a fraternal bond being an unbreakable one, and Tsuna by extension. All roads in Rome led back to the Sky, it seemed.

The Shadow was supposed to be isolated, independent, and solitudinous. As her elbow smacks against Gokudera’s, the two of them complaining briefly but then getting back into rights, she wonders if she’s failed her predecessor. A connection to another aspect of the Sky could kill her — she knows this much, though she hasn’t had the heart to tell Gokudera this.

She knows why she was taken away from them. Why she was told to stop dancing for him. She wonders if she’ll ever be able to tell him the truth.

“Don’t forget to introduce yourself to Hibari and Chrome, Miakis.” Reborn tells her from the other end of the table, successfully pulling herself out of her thoughts. Dabbing the corners of her mouth with a napkin, she nods. “Gokudera can introduce you.”

“What?!” Gokudera asks, frowning. “Reborn-san, I don’t even know where Chrome is.”

“She’ll find you, don’t worry.” Reborn laughs, though it appears more like a chuckle— a deeply unsettling one that makes Tsuna sweat in his seat a little bit. “As for Hibari, it’s pretty obvious where he is at the moment.”

“Right!” Ryohei agrees, nodding. “I was training at the Namimori High gym this morning, and he was there. I was scolded for being on campus.”

“Brother…” Kyoko sighs, shaking her head. 

“No problem,” Miakis nods, her plate empty and her tea sipped on quietly. “I’ll be sure to find them and introduce myself, Reborn-sama.”

_ Is it really a good idea for Miakis to go introduce herself to Hibari?  _ Tsuna thinks, looking her over as she reaches into her bag to reapply her lip gloss.  _ He was still pretty beat up the last time we saw him, and the last thing either of them needs is to get into a fight before school starts back… after all, he’s made it pretty clear he’s got no problem taking down anyone, regardless of age or gender…  _

The comment about Miakis having a gun on her person startles him out of his worries, instead launching him into another set of them, and Reborn eventually scolds him for the way he’s acting. 

As lunch winded down, Tsuyoshi, the owner of the establishment, comes around to see how everyone is paying. Once everyone starts to decide whose food goes on what ticket, Miakis reaches into her purse and hands over a card, black and sleek. “Don’t worry, here— charge everyone’s food to this.” Promptly, the entire table bursts into panic, frantic that their new friend is racking up at least 10,000 yen in sushi. There are scattered cries—”You don’t have to do that,” cries Tsuna; “Absolutely not!” adds on Haru—though, they’re dismissed with a wave of Miakis’s hand.

“It’s okay,” she smiles, nodding a little bit. “My parents are really affluent. This is the least I can do for my new friends.”

“Are you sure?” Tsuna asks, brows furrowed and eyes pleading with Miakis to make the right decision.  _ Consider me a failsafe of sorts,  _ Miakis’s voice chimes in the back of his head, and his shoulders relax. Were her parents Vongola members? Was she being wired that money from someone in the Family to take care of Tsuna and his guardians?

“I would not offer if I wasn’t sure,” Miakis smiles, handing over the card. “It won’t be a problem.”

“Wow, Miakis-chan!” Haru smiles, “You’re so generous!”

“I can’t do this all the time,” Miakis laughs, sheepish at the praise, “but for the first meal I’m having with my new friends… it’s alright.”

From across the table, Lambo kicks his legs, tiny feet thumping against the underside of the table. “If the dancer lady was going to pay, Lambo should have gotten the good stuff!” He huffs, crossing his arms. 

Tsuyoshi takes the black card and walks away with it, ready to swipe it. Being praised and applauded for her act of charity at the table causes a red blush to form onto Miakis’s cheeks, though the warmth of it pales in comparison to the heat that was being given to her by Gokudera’s stare right next to her. He’d caught her in a lie, the first of many she would have to weave around herself to keep those closest to her from the truth.  _ You said they took you from your parents,  _ his expression chides her.  _ I know,  _ her soft eyes reply to him.

_ Forgive me,  _ her face pleads to him.

_ No,  _ his snarl replies as he turns his head away from her, caught up in something Tsuna was saying.  _ I don’t think I will. _


End file.
